AN immaculate kicking display by fly-half Jason Gilbert carried Birkenhead to a terrific victory in this Intermediate Cup second round tie at the Upper Park.

Not only did Gilbert punish the visitors with six goal efforts out of six but he also drove them back with some excellent tactical line kicking out of the hand.

Chester, a league above Park, had the satisfaction of scoring two well-worked tries and it seemed they might steal the verdict during an excellent late rally on the Park try-line.

But Birkenhead, with several of their top men missing, dug deep and hung on grimly to retain their unbeaten record for the season, albeit by a closer margin than their recent 50-point league thrashings.

The result might have been different had Matt Farr found his kicking form for Chester but in the event he managed just a first-half penalty.

It was 9-3 at the break with Gilbert landing a trio of penalties to give Park the advantage their all-round commitment deserved.

Both sides had their periods of dominance but defences stood firm with Steve Dodd excellent for Park.

The Chester forwards drove over for a touchdown by Steve Bellis but Gilbert went on to add three further penalties by the 63rd minute.

Sustained pressure from Chester brought a corner try for Brian Graham after a lively passing move, but they could not go on to tip the balance in a game in which no quarter was given by either team in attack or defence.

Newcomer Chris Planchant made a big impression in the Park back-row but it was a big team performance which won the day for the Wirral victors.